Hey guys, looking for advice on my first build. I’m looking forward to building a Dactyl Manuform but I’ve run into some hiccups that I seek your advice on. I apologize in advance if my English is a bit wonky.

  1. Wireless? I thought about going wireless and ordering a pair of nice!nano controllers. I assume it will be a bit easier to assemble (less components) and I can switch between devices easily, but I’ve heard it’s a bit harder to troubleshoot. Is this a good idea or should I go wired for a first build? How do I go about connecting the battery and which batteries should I look into?

  2. How to solder? Most of the Dactyl tutorials and guides I’ve come across assume some level of soldering experience and skip over some steps - I have none whatsoever but I’m a very willing self-learner. What are some good resources to learn how to do this? I’m talking basic stuff including things like where all the components go and which connect to which.

  3. Compatible switches? I’ve looked into tactile switches and loved the sound (or lack of) Gazzew Boba U4 Black Silent. Would these be compatible and a good alternative to standard cherry mx switches?

Thanks in advance for your help!

  • @pterencephalon
    2•1 year ago

    I’m almost done building a from-scratch keyboard with a pair of nice!nanos. So far is been a pretty good experience. I ran into some issues setting up my firmware for a brand new keyboard layout (which shouldn’t be an issue if you’re just making a config for an existing keyboard), and the ZMK/nice!nano discords were very helpful and got me up and running.

    When wiring the battery, I’d say get the biggest single cell lipo that will fit in your case. But even a 100mAh battery will get you pretty far off you don’t have LEDs. You just connect the B+ and B- pins on the board to your battery. If you want to make the battery last longer, stick a switch inline with the battery to be able to completely turn it off (rather than it just going into deep sleep).